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| A Light in the Window |
~5 Stars*****
Reviewed by Diana Flowers
A Magical Christmas Story!
In this prequel to The Daughters of Boston and The Winds of Change series, Julie Lessman ushers in the holiday season with crystalline snowflakes a-falling, boughs of holly, beautifully lit candles in the windows, Christmas programs, and soul-stirring romance in the frosty air!
As Marcy becomes the organizer for a Christmas program fund raiser for St. Mary's parish entitled A Light in the Window, sparks begin to fly as both of these handsome, skirt chasing men begin to pursue her. Drawn to Marcy by her natural beauty, and her gentle and spiritual demeanor, both men find themselves falling in love with her, but which man will respond to A Light in the Window? -- which according to her Grandma symbolizes the light of Christ in Marcy's heart. It is only as calamity strikes during the Christmas program that Marcy learns the true, personal meaning of the Irish Christmas story, A Light in the Window.
If you have never read any of Julie Lessman's books, this heartwarming prequel would be the best place to start as Marcy and so and so (no spoiler alerts-lol) are the wisdom filled patriarch and matriarch in each of the novels in these two wonderful series! I LOVED this book and it's sweet, heartwarming spiritual message to all during this Christmas season. I was covered in goose bumps at the conclusion with eyes brimming with tears, as I said goodbye to this lovely family I've grown to know and love. Destined to become a Christmas classic, this is a must read for all...for He truly is a "light in the window" in all of our hearts!
A Light in the Window can be purchased in e-book format through Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Giveaway: This ebook will be given away to one commenter on this post. You must be one of Julie's Facebook author page followers to win. Simply go to her FB author page and click "Like" (Here is the link to her page.) Just put JL in your comment so we know! Thanks!
Question: I love how everyone came out to the Christmas play to help support the fundraiser! Is there a spiritual tradition you and your family observe during Christmas?
A Light in the Window can be purchased in e-book format through Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Giveaway: This ebook will be given away to one commenter on this post. You must be one of Julie's Facebook author page followers to win. Simply go to her FB author page and click "Like" (Here is the link to her page.) Just put JL in your comment so we know! Thanks!
Question: I love how everyone came out to the Christmas play to help support the fundraiser! Is there a spiritual tradition you and your family observe during Christmas?
Merry Christmas everyone! That was such a TRULY beautiful review DIANA... so fitting for that stunning book!! You inspire me to want to start pulling out all my Christmas decorations right now! :)
ReplyDeleteEach Christmas Eve when our children were younger and all living at home, and once we got everything done in preparation for Christmas Day, we'd light the Christmas tree, light some candles, and sit down and relax and soak up the peace and love of God while we sang Christmas Carols together in worship to Him.
Sounds good, but then of course it would be since Julie (JL) wrote it :)
ReplyDeleteOur family looks forward to Advent. We have some fond memories of when the children were little; making the wreath and shopping for candles but now we enjoy the opportunity to dig a little deeper into the Word!
Thank you, NOELA! That sounds so lovely. I'm afraid too many parents today don't teach their children that Jesus is the reason for the season.
ReplyDeleteANNE, this is such a wonderful book -- I just know you will love it! And there's no better way to celebrate His birthday than to read His word! Later on I'll tell everyone what we do to celebrate!
ReplyDeleteDiana loved your review and you already know what I think about the colorful "A MAGICAL CHRISTMAS STORY!" GENIUS!! :D
ReplyDeleteWe spend Christmas Eve with hubby's family and then Christmas Day with my family. I do have a fond memory to share, when my sons were small I taught them the Christmas story and they could quote it word for word. That was the best feeling in the world to hear Daniel (4) and Joshua (3)telling the beautiful story of Jesus' birth. :)
Well, I just messed up the spacing on the post, lol, DIANA! Must be a Word Pad thing with it. GREAT review! I am SO looking forward to reading my copy and wish I didn't have a bunch of stuff to do. Will reward myself for making the pumpkin pie and allow myself a quick read. Hmmm, will take to Dr's office with me right now and read it!!! That could get me through several chapters!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I know what you think, TERESA! lol That is too awesome!!...and had to have taken alot of work to teach them that! You are such a good mommy!
ReplyDeleteCARRIE, YOU DID WHAT???!! LOL TERESA and I thought you might take the red and green title off! haha
ReplyDeleteAfter Thanksgiving is over put your tootsies up and rest and read to your heart's content. This one will leave such a warm glow in your heart, I promise! Oh, and by all means take JULIE to the dr. with you! ;)
Great review for a GREAT book! Please don't enter me.. I already own a copy. In fact, you can see my review and enter to win another copy over on my blog here: http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/2012/11/julie-lessmans-light-in-window-giveaway.html
ReplyDeleteOur Christmas traditions involved things for little kids.. like stocklngs and baking Christmas cookies together.. but everyone is grown up now. I guess we need to come up with some new ones!!
Have a Great thanksgiving everyone!!! Hugs!
MARYLU! It's so awesome to see you and thank you for your kind words! Many thanks for the link as well!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with still being childlike at Christmas -- it's a magical time of the year! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
OH, DIANA ... sneaking by to read your INCREDIBLE review is SOOOO much better than cleaning four bathrooms for 30 people coming tomorrow, and will definitely help me float through the drudge of housework today, so BLESS YOU!!
ReplyDeleteGOSH, this review is SO good and so beautifully written (as was Teresa's yesterday!!), that you guys even have ME wanting to read this book again!!
And, CARRIE ... by all means ... take me to the doctor, PLEASE!! Too bad it's not a shrink because as nuts as I've been lately, I could use the help ... ;)
MARYLU, thank you again, my sweet friend, for hosting me on your blog as well and, of course, for your precious friendship!
LOVE all the spiritual traditions you guys mentioned -- they make Christmas SO much better, don't they? We have a program at our Church called Advent Conspiracy that fosters the idea that at Christmas we need to spend less on "presents" and more on the "presence" of God in our lives by giving of ourselves as well as our money. Here are the precepts of this unique approach to Christmas and the link in case anyone wants to check it out: ADVENT CONSPIRACY
WORSHIP FULLY. SPEND LESS. GIVE MORE. LOVE ALL.
Hugs and more hugs,
Julie
JULIE, thank you for coming by in spite of all of your busyness! A Light in the Window playing on my Kindle definitely helped get me through some cleaning sprees! But FOUR bathrooms and 30 guests?? Honey, you have our prayers! And you are funny -- nuts? -- not quite, but you do fit in nicely here with me and my nutty, sweet cohorts. ;) Happy Thanksgiving, JULIE!
ReplyDeleteP.S. And thank you for the link!
First after everyone is here, we pray, giving thanks then after we eat, we gather for our tradition of reading the true Christmas story of Jesus' birth straight from the Bible.
ReplyDeleteKIM, that is sooo beautiful! Thank you for leaving Christ in Christmas! So many people don't. :(
ReplyDeleteI grew up having a special family Christmas Eve that started with an open house at our home for friends and then the young people would all go christmas caroling in the evening, ending with the 11pm candlelight service at church. Singing "Silent Night" by candlelight still brings tears to my eyes
ReplyDeleteoops - forgot to put JL in my comment!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks Diana for the GREAT review and for not giving away any spoilers! LOOOOOVE the colorful title as Teresa mentioned, how nice that looks and stands out :) Your conclusion really touched me, "Destined to become a Christmas classic, this is a must read for all...for He truly is a "light in the window" in all of our hearts!" Wow, sooooo well written Diana.
ReplyDeleteMy family and I don't have any spiritual traditions that we celebrate with, but God has recently convicted my parents and myself of changing that. We heavily desire to have MUCH more of God's presence and influence when celebrating Christmas (other than attending the church service). It's so important to have holiness amidst the busyness of the season. I'm definitely getting some nice ideas from your comments here :)
The one thing activity we used to do as a family was drive around the neighborhood and look at the Christmas lights on houses. When we found the fanciest ones, we'd get out of the car and I would take pictures of us with the lights.
Again, please don't enter me in the ebook giveaway since I already have a copy. Thank you Diana for writing such a lovely review. Happy Thanksgiving to you ladies, blessings to you and your families :)
DIANA, we make a birthday cake for baby Jesus and while I realize we dk His exact bday, I want that to be the focus not on Santa and his sack!!!
ReplyDeleteJULIE, if you want a shot in your knee, I'll take you next time, lol. And 'tis the season for the absence of reason I think and if I had THIRTY people coming to my house, um, well, I would just LEAVE!!!!
AWESOME review, DIANA!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe always celebrate the birth of Christ on the first Christmas morning. After church we have cold buffet. Everybody brings something to eat. It's a great time to be among brothers and sisters in Christ to celebrate Christ's birth.
I agree with CARRIE. I don't want to focus on Santa and his sack with Christmas, but celebrate Jesus' bday!
KIM F. That sounds so wonderful! I love the song Silent Night.
ReplyDeleteKARA, I always love your sweet comments!! You're such a blessing!
ReplyDeleteDIANA is doing some Thanksgiving shopping at the moment, but will be back shortly.
We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Holland, but I'd like to wish my American friends a happy thanksgiving!!
CARRIE How well do I remember the Christmas my litte boys wanted to enlight their cousins that SANTA wasn't real and that Christmas was about JESUS!!! Boy did we get in trouble!! LOL We had to duct-tape their mouths closed so we wouldn't
ReplyDeletea repeat the following year. (just kidding about the duct-tape) :D
I don't mean to sound harsh but my hubby and I didn't want our children to be taught about a JOLLY OLE MAN coming down a chimney (we didn't have BTW) to bring them presents. We taught them that God had blessed us to be able to give them what they needed and some of their wants. JESUS is the REASON for the SEASON that's what we wanted to teach them.
BTW I'm a big ole kid at heart so YES we did sing the songs about Santa and Rudolph but that wasn't the main focus of our Christmas. :)
Hey Marian, so glad you stepped in!
ReplyDeletePraying that Diana's shopping trip goes well, did mine yesterday with my mom and we came back spent :)
Thank you Marian for the thanksgiving wishes, you are one of many people I thank God for! Love you girl :)
KIM F, I'm the same way with Silent Night and the candles in church. I cry every time, it's such a holy and precious moment :)
MARIAN, thank you my sweet cohort! And I love how you celebrate Christmas! I wish my gkids didn't concentrate so much on Santa's bag either, b/c Grandma's handbag starts to get very empty -- especially her wallet! :)
ReplyDeleteGood, you're back! Just came out of bed to check. :) Finally my painkillers are working!! How could I forget to take them?!?
ReplyDeleteWe don't decorate for Christmas either. I'm always a bit careful to say that, because I don't want people to think I disapprove when they do decorate.
For me that has nothing to do with Christmas. I do like to see lights on a dark night, tho... ;)
Thank you KARA. You really are a sweetie! I thank God for you. You always make me smile! So glad that we met online! :)
Thanks for a lovely review of a book that I'm hoping to add to my collection. JL
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, NANCEE! This is a must read! And I know Julie appreciates you "liking" her page! Do you have a special tradition that your family honors at Christmas time?
ReplyDeleteOh, KIM F, I sooo wish the days of Christmas carolers and passing out hot chocolate would come back! That's why I love this book so much...it reminds me of how Christmas used to be!
ReplyDeleteCARRIE, that is precious about the cake! And if I were JULIE...I would leave, too! lol
ReplyDeleteI stated above that I would share what we do every Christmas. Every Christmas Eve my kids and gkids come over and we open all of our gifts, and then all go over to our sis in law's house and have a big Christmas party! Then the rest of the eve we sing Christmas carols with my niece on the piano and some of my other relatives playing the guitar. And we even share some testimonies of what the Lord has done for us this year if anyone wants to do that. On Christmas day we virtually relax. ahhhh
ReplyDeleteKARA, thank you so much for your kind words! I was trying to enlarge the creativity part of my brain (lol), by doing the green and red (seems TERESA got my share-you should see her church bulletins-gorgeous!:)) You are such a blessing to us here at OWG and it's friends like you who help make the holidays even more special! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteLovely review Diana, it really makes me want to drop money on the book, but at this time of the year, can't be spending money on myself! Hopefully I will win a copy.
ReplyDeleteThe ladies of our family always play board games after the big meal on Christmas. Either that or we all go bowling! One of the few places that is always open on Christmas=).
Patty
pattymh2000(at)yahoo(dot)com
How interesting, PATTY! I didn't think anything like that was open on Christmas. You said the review makes you want to drop money on the book right now but can't, so how about dropping some hints to your family for an Amazon giftcard? Works every year for me as my birthday is 5 days before Christmas! lol This is such a wonderful book -- you will really want to read it during the holidays or at least during the winter! Hoping you get the chance to read it ASAP! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteI want to take this moment to wish all of our dear friends here on Overcoming With God a very Happy Thanksgiving from Carrie, Diana, Teresa, Marian, and Noela! Many blessings~
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanks giving! My parents and my family allways go to the "Kerst nachtdienst", that is a church service on Christmas eve. It starts at 11 pm and when the service ends at 12pm the church bells ring. The shepards came at night to see the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is what it feels like for us.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book that will bring you right in the chrismas mood :). JL
mirjam(at)fotoflits(dot)com
I may be a bit too late for this contest, but here goes! Great review. I really would love to win this book. We have a few traditions at Christmas, but my favorite is Jesus' Birthday Cake. I light a single candle on the cake and hand out candles to each person in the room. In turn, we light our candle with the one on the cake and say a 'wish' for the new year, then we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Finally, I say "Just as the Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus, we will now give gifts to each other". It puts the focus on the true Reason for the Season, instead of the commercial stuff. If I'm not too late, please enter me: debsbunch5[at]jesusanswers[dot]com
ReplyDeleteI'm already liking on your facebook page. This is a great review and love reading stories like this. Looking forward to reading this book.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Jo
azladijo(at)aol(dot)com
Mirjam that sounds beautiful! We do that sometimes on New Years Eve to usher in the New Year. At around 9 pm we have special singers, preaching, and then breakfast or refreshments after. Neat to start the new year in church!
ReplyDeleteJO, thank you for liking Julie's page! Do you have a special "spiritual" tradition you observe during the Christmas holidays?
ReplyDeleteCHAPLAINDEBBIE, you are right on time!! And as a matter of fact, we have more reviews coming up this week that you may comment on as well and up your chances to win! If you comment on all, you have a chance to win CHOCOLATE as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat a precious tradition that is -- love it!
This sounds like another fantastic book by Julie. I'm looking forward to reading it. Thanks for all the reviews this week.
ReplyDeleteTo answer the Christmas tradition question, we usually go to a Christmas Eve service at church.
JL
pmk56[at]sbcglobal[dot]net
PAM, it's so nice to see you on this wonderful day of giving thanks!! That is awesome that you and your family remember the reason for the season! Sadly, too many people don't. :(
ReplyDeleteWe celebrate Epiphany with special traditions, Christmas doesn't really have any. And I already liked Julie's page!
ReplyDeleteThank you, MELISSA! I know JULIE appreciates your support! Thank you for coming by!
DeleteMy family goes to a Christmas Eve service. I'm looking forward to reading this! JL
ReplyDeleteVERONICA, I think that is wonderful, as alot of people don't want to be in church on Christmas Eve OR Christmas day! No better way that I can think of -- to celebrate the birth of Christ! Hoping you get a chance to read this ASAP!
DeleteDon't forget to comment on all of the "Julie" reviews this whole week for a chance to win some CHOCOLATE, y'all! Yummmmmy.
ReplyDeleteThe tradition we follow is going to the school Christmas program for the Christian school that my children attended (and where I worked for several years as a TA and substitute teacher) and now my granddaughter & her younger brother also attend the same school They always have a great Christmas program followed by a cookie sale & they take up an "offering" to give the staff a Christmas bonus...
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to start reading this and her other books! vmarney at hotmail dot com
Vicki
That sounds like so much fun, VICKI! Don't you just love Christmas programs?! One of my favorite things about A Light in the Window is that it revolves around a Christmas program which has alot of significance to our heroine!
DeleteP.S. VICKI "liked" Julie's page! Thanks, Vicki!!
Thanks Diana--you are such a great friend--I'm so happy to have known you for so many years & LOVED our reunion this past month!
DeleteThank you, VICKI! I feel so blessed to have known you as well and being personally reunited last month was a blessing straight from God above! He is so good and who would have thought after all these years that that would have taken place?!
DeleteI would like to share a couple other family traditions. We never know when we are doing something, that might become a tradition. My kids used to bug me to let them "open just one present" on Christmas eve, so I began buying them Christmas PJ's and then let them open them on Christmas eve, so they could wear them that night and be wearing new Christmas PJ's when they opened their gifts the next morning. I ever cosidered this a "tradition" until later, when my ids were older and I didn't buy the Christmas PJ's and they said "Mom! YOu didn't buy our traditional Christmas PJ's! LOL
ReplyDeleteLOL! That is so funny, VICKI! I always get my sister pj's for Christmas (along with other stuff) and she always gets me some, too. We both love hanging out in them on those cold, wintery days! Thanks for sharing that with us -- too cute.
DeleteWe usually start out Christmas Eve w/ reading and/or quoting "The Night Before Christmas" before opening our Christmas PJ's and then we read/quote the "Christmas Story" before opening the rest of the gifts on Christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteOur family LOVES Christmas, so we decorate to the hilt, and we talk about how, "Isn't it fun to 'pretend' about Santa?" That way, our kids still get to enjoy the "Santa type traditions" but never got a shock, finding out that it was all pretend and we made sure they knew that the Christ- story was MORE than a story!
That sounds so warm and fun, VICKI! I think it is so important that all children know that Jesus is the reason for the season! And adding Santa is all in fun!
DeleteJL. Our tradition has always been to read the Christmas story in the Bible... not a unique one but still special when I was a kid
ReplyDeleteJASMINE, that is very special and the story of the Christ child is always unique! Please come back and leave your email addy in case we draw your name we will know where to contact you! To protect from spam write {at} and {dot}. Thanks!!
Deletehope I am not too late, didn't check the comments here until now.
Deletemontanamade(at)gmail(dot)com
Gee, I just started reading the comments, hope I am not too late..
ReplyDeletemontanamade(at)gmail(dot)com